Before the Legend: the Story of Solaro
by Solaro the watcher
Summary: The Third Age of the Dragon Realms - a thousand years before Spyro's time - was an age of peace and prosperity for the Dragon Realms. The Dragon Temple was a reknowned academy for all of Dragonkind, until the first Purple Dragon in living memory turned to darkness. Solaro was one dragon who experienced this event firsthand. This is the story of Solaro, the Watcher...


**Hello, everyone! Some of you have probably been wondering, exactly who is this Solaro guy I keep inserting as a side story into all of my reviews of other Spyro fanfics? Well, this story will answer all of your questions…well, **_**should**_**.**

**Hope you enjoy this little intro!**

Before the Legend:

The Story of Solaro

Prologue

In the middle of the ocean, there is a mass of mist and clouds. To distant observers, it appears to be little more than a massive storm, unmoving and unaffected by the weather of the world, perhaps masking an equally massive maelstrom waiting to consume any who approach. However, few know of what truly lies beyond the veil of mist: the White Isle. And even fewer know of its significance.

It is a rather small island. Beaches of fine silvery sand surround a network of caves. Once one has maneuvered these caves, they will come across what appears to be the ruins of a large temple. It is hidden in this temple where the oldest and wisest of all beings in the Dragon Realms resides: the Chronicler.

The Chronicler resides in the deepest chamber of the Celestial Caves; a massive hourglass fills the very center of the room, giving of a faint light, just enough to illuminate the chamber; bookshelves line the walls, filled with books containing the entire history of the dragon race, giving it the appearance of a small library. Each book pertains to a particular dragon in the Realms, telling his or her history from the day they were born to present time, and even a faint glimpse into what will happen in the near future in some rare occasions. It is the duty of the Chronicler to watch these dragons as their lives progress and add them to the books of time.

The ancient dragon was at this time looking through the books he had just updated. His scales no longer reflect the light from the hourglass as well as they used to due to their blue color fading over the years. His wings have also deteriorated over that time and now sport a several holes. His lower jaw sported a lengthy beard – not uncommon among his family before he became the Chronicler at the Ancestors' request. Since then, he has watched nearly ten generations of dragons live their lives to the fullest extent of the peace that has endured since the fall of the Dark Master. And during that time he had come to memorize the exact positions of each individual book in the library.

Today, however, a surprise awaited him as he looked to the far end of one of the bookshelves. There, he saw only a single book.

"Strange," he thought aloud. This is the first time he'd seen a book occupying a shelf on its own. How had he not noticed it for all these years?

Curious, he summoned it to have a closer look. The cover was gold – such a lustrous golden color that one might have mistaken it for real gold – with a navy blue spine holding it together. The colors sparked something in the ancient dragon's memory… Whose book is this? That question was answered immediately as he opened the front cover.

"Solaro…"

There he beheld an image of a dragon he had once known in the past; he was young, not yet 18 years of age; his scales were the same golden color as the book; in contrast to this were his belly scales, wing membranes, horns, spikes, tail spade, even his claws, which were the same rich navy blue as the book's spine; there were two blue stripes across his azure eyes; birthmarks, though were it not for the color they would appear as scars from a wound that had not been fully healed.

"Exactly as I remember you…" the Chronicler whispered as he turned the pages of the book, skimming through the life of the gold dragon he had once known, reminiscing the memories he had had of Solaro, both good and bad; the day Solaro hatched at the Temple; the private lessons he had given the gold dragon for his unique element; the Thunderball Tournament; Veral's defeat…Actually, the more the Chronicler thought about it, the more he realized that he had never gotten to really know Solaro personally. He felt slightly ashamed, for Solaro was the one student in the entire school he had grown to care for the most…

"Perhaps…" the Chronicler said, eyeing the book with a much more interested look. "…I can find the answers I seek in here…"

And so he decided to start from the beginning of the young dragon's life. He flipped to the first chapter and began…

**Ok, so the story won't answer your questions **_**right away.**_** But, I guess that's to be expected. **

**Just so we're clear, this is the Chronicler that Spyro meets in Eternal Night, and this chapter takes place before that meeting, quite a while before. **

**To those who actually took the time to read this rather short lead-off chapter, you have my thanks. I appreciate reviews, whether they're to help me, criticize me, or just small talk; everything helps.**

**Ok, so now it's actually time to give our main characters their introduction. I'll be working on the next – well, actually the first – chapter, but no guarantees as to when it'll be up. Don't worry, I **_**will**_** have it up, I just don't know exactly when.**

**Until then, may the Ancestors look after you…May they look after us all. **


End file.
